FIFA 16 Man Utd Career Mode Guide: 11 Things You Must Do

The Dutchman has left the building and you’re the new boss at Old Trafford. Now, despite having a large pile of cash at your disposal and some extremely talented players, a career save with Manchester United on FIFA 16 isn’t as easy as you would first imagine.

Luckily the board expectations have been lowered on the latest version but (rightfully) you’re still expected to make the Champions League spots. Now if you’re playing on world class or legendary level this isn’t going to be easy and you will need to make the right decisions pre-season to avoid being removed from your position come May.

Armed with a tasty £57.5 million (or more if you can take advantage of the bonus % increase) and a wage budget of £1,895,250 it’s time to fix the Red Devils’ squad. Do you need a striker or are you going to trust Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial? Is Andre Herrera good enough to be your number ten and surely you’re going to need a central defender?

Here is what I decided are the best decisions to make (after three or four questionable careers with the Man United squad) that are sure to make you the next Alex Ferguson…

11. Make Sure You Update Your Squads Before You Start

A very obvious and brief first tip: If you don’t update your squads then you will have to endure the agony of having Sergio Romero as your starting goalkeeper and Marouane Fellaini as your centre forward every time you go into your team management.

If you can put up with that then ignore this information but you’re a stronger man than me.

10. Utilise Fellaini As Much As You Can (Or Sell)

Physicality is a big thing on FIFA 16 and due to the new defensive controls it’s handy to have a strong man in your side. Marouane Fellaini’s 89 physical rating puts him in the top bracket, which means that regardless of your opinion of him in real life he could actually be a crucial player for your Manchester United side.

He works well in the centre of midfield as he can steal the ball from lighter midfielders and start poignant counter attacks. He also wins a lot of the aerial balls that come from both goalkeepers meaning he will consistently help you retain possession.

BUT. If you cannot bare to have the Belgian brute anywhere near your Red Devils’ starting eleven then I would advise you to get rid of the player as you can make around £12 million (that does get you a very decent replacement) if you counter the offer a couple of times.

9. Send Andreas Pereira And Jesse Lingard Out On Loan

Andreas Pereira (66 overall FUT rating) and Jesse Lingard (69 overall FUT rating) could be two potential future superstars for your Manchester United career mode but they need to be handled with care.

I loan spell would work well for the pair and it’s up to you whether you list them for a one or a two year spell. Hopefully the players will both return as a near to a 75 rating as possible and then you can start to better them through training and a run in the first team side.

Warning. Do not sell them or release them as they have great potential on the game.

8. Sell Antonio Valencia

Don’t be fooled by Antonio Valencia’s 79 rating. The versatile midfielder simply isn’t good enough to play midfield and defensively he can’t compete with Matteo Darmain. The Ecuadorian simply hasn’t looked the part since Alex Ferguson’s departure and you can make around £9 million if you do choose to sell him.

Valencia’s worse trait is that he has a ONE star for ‘weak foot’ and if he is forced onto his left side he cannot cope. Sell. Sell. Sell.

7. Ease Anthony Martial In Gently

On FIFA 15, Anthony Martial (before he became known to the entire world) could play as an attacking inside forward as well as a striker. On FIFA 16 he can only play as a central striker, which is a bit annoying as it means you have to either play two up front or drop Wayne Rooney.

Despite Martial performing extremely well in real life, EA Sports (understandably) haven’t blessed him with ‘Thierry Henry’ finishing just yet but his 79 rating (78 shooting) is certainly good enough to grab you a few goals. His touch isn’t brilliant though and it will be important that you nurture the Frenchman and gently ease him into the team. Make sure you don’t neglect the training process and before you know it you could have one of the best forwards on the game.

6. Buy A Striker

Anthony Martial isn’t the final product yet and Wayne Rooney only has a 75 rating for pace. Both of these factors mean that you’re going to struggle to finish in the Champions League places if you decide to not purchase a sparkly new centre forward.

Alexandre Lacazette would be my first choice. He has an overall FUT rating of 84, 85 shooting, 84 dribbling and 88 pace. Quite simply he is a goal machine. You can normally sign the Lyon striker for around £35 million. If you struggle to sign him or are pipped at the post by an annoying Bayern Munich offer then Everton’s Romelu Lukaku can offer you a cheaper but still very effective option.

5. Buy A Central Defender

Look, if you trust Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Daley Blind or Marcus Rojo then I’m not going to criticise you for it. Actually, I am. You’re foolish and wrong. If you wish to finish in the Champions League spots (like you are expected to do) then these guys will not get you there.

Aymeric Laporte is 21 years old and is already rated as an 83. The Athletic Bilbao is a wonderfully gifted central defender and one that will significantly improve your side. The problem is that he may cost you around £40 million and if you have already bought Aleksandre Lacazette (like I told you earlier) then your finances may be a little short. If that is the case then place a bid of around £20 million for Paris Saint Germain’s Marquinhos who has an 81 rating and will also bolster your defensive options.

Tip. If you do decide to buy either of the aforementioned then you should sell Phil Jones as you will make around £12 million.

4. Sign Felipe Anderson For £13m

Don’t kid yourself that you need to stay true to Michael Carrick. It’s that kind of thinking that will get you sacked before Christmas. It’s time to sign another centre midfielder to sit alongside either Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin (I advise the former).

That man is Lazio’s Felipe Anderson. The Brazilian box-to-box midfielder will give your team a evident boost that you wouldn’t get from Michael Carrick or Andre Herrera. His FUT rating of 79 will grow as he is only 21 years old and he is available for around £13 million. If you sell Michael Carrick then you can make a quarter of that money back anyway.

3. Play 4-2-2-2

Now, I’ve experimented with 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 but I didn’t enjoy any of them. I assumed that my 4-3-3 formation would work well having Alexandre Lacazette up front and Juan Mata and Memphis Depay either side of him but it didn’t work and I struggled to score goals.

I switched to a 4-2-2-2 formation and it seemed to get the best results. I used Bastian Schweinsteiger and Felipe Anderson as my centre midfielder pairing and put Mata and Depay in front of them as attacking playmakers. I found that I needed two strikers to score goals with Man United and put Wayne Rooney and Lacazette up front.

This system worked well and I finished third in my first season on world class and Rooney and Lacazette scored 40 goals between them.

2. Sell Michael Carrick

You know that he is finished, I know that he is finished. Just get rid.

I’m sure he would love to end his career at Bologna anyway…

1. Sign Thomas Muller

Can you achieve what Louis van Gaal was unable to do? Let’s bring Thomas Muller to Old Trafford shall we?

The Bayern Munich forward will cost between £40-50 million but is worth every penny as he guarantees goals on FIFA 16. He has an overall FUT rating of 86 and has a score of 84 for shooting.